Spicy Sichuan Eggplant (Fish-Fragrant Eggplant)
Eggplant is one of those vegetables that almost begs for strong, pungent spices and sauces. And one of the most popular vegetable dishes in Sichuan cooking is "fish-fragrant eggplant", an unfortunate literal translation of the Chinese name (鱼香茄子 yuxiang qiezi) without the cultural nuance. You see, it doesn't actually smell or taste like fish. Rather, the name refers to method of preparation usually associated with fish in Sichuan cuisine that results in hot, sour, salty, and sweet flavors all co-mingling on the plate.
Some versions use dried red chilis for spiciness, others use ground chili flakes. Some recipes written for the overseas market eschew Sichuan peppercorn, since the ingredient may be hard to find. I like to use both Sichuan peppercorn and 豆瓣酱 (doubanjiang), a chili bean paste with fava beans that you may recall from some other Sichuan dishes like dry-fried green beans and twice-cooked pork. Vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar complete the four-flavors balance, with additional seasonings for background support.
Rather than deep-frying, like many other recipes call for, I like to use just a bit of oil and stir-fry until the outsides are golden brown. This seems to result in a less oily, but still flavorful, eggplant dish. For meatier oomph, you can also add a bit of minced pork and stir-fry it with the garlic and ginger.
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Similar recipes:
Eggplant, Cumin, and Black Bean Salad
Sichuan Dry-Fried Green Beans
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Spicy Sichuan Eggplant, or "Fish-Fragrant Eggplant"
Serves 4 as part of multi-course meal
1 1/2 pounds Asian eggplant
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons chili bean paste
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark rice vinegar
1 tablespoon yellow rice wine
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorn, or 1 teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
Scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish
Slice each eggplant in half lengthwise, then slice each length into quarters.
In a small bowl, mix together chicken stock, chili bean paste, soy sauce, rice vinegar, rice wine, and sugar. Set aside.
In a wok, heat oil until just smoking. Add eggplants and stir-fry until outsides become golden brown and insides begin to soften, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in stock-sauce mixture and mix well. Allow sauce to simmer for 2 minutes and eggplant to absorb sauce. Stir in cornstarch mixture to thicken sauce. Remove from heat, plate, and garnish with scallions.
Great photo!
This is one of my favourite dishes, I usually add minced pork and shiitake mushrooms. The aubergines go all soft and melt into the sauce, lovely!
There are so many versions
There are so many versions of this dish, but yours looks just devine. I normally skip the frying of the eggplant all together, just simmer it in the sauce. But your photo of the stirfried eggplant looks so lovely, I think I will try it once again.
I love your recipes, cause I
I love your recipes, cause I always have the ingredients at home but just don't know how to use them together! You bring the Chinese back in me! So thank you! I am DEFINITELY making this tonight. A frequent that I make also is the noodles with hot bean sauce.
eggplant
you dont have to ask me twice, once is enough and I will ask for a big plate of this....
yummy!!
I LOOOOVE eggplant!!! Def. need the 豆瓣酱 :D
beautiful photo and
beautiful photo and wonderful recipe. i never used to like aubergine but once i got started on properly cooked ones, i was hooked. this recipe makes me miss my gramma..
I can't wait....
....to make this at home! It looks way too delicious, which means it is just delicious enough!! I liked your "hot, sour, salty, and sweet flavors all co-mingling on the plate" comment. What's better than that to make a person happy?! Thanks for sharing...your photos are über-cool too!
my favorite
鱼香茄子is one of my absolute favorite chinese dishes. when i lived in boston i found a place with a great version of this dish and formed a three-year addiction! i'm moving to china soon and i can't wait to get my mouth on this again. all the times that i've tried at home, it's never turned out quite right. perhaps i'll have to try again.
ellis - Where in Boston? I
ellis - Where in Boston? I should look it up the next time I'm in town. Had a hard time finding non-Cantonese Chinese food when I lived there.
i live in boston ... the
i live in boston ... the best version i have seen is at 四川饭庄 in Brookline.
Eggplant is in Season now!
I have been cooking quite a lot of eggplant recently because they are in season now in Singapore! it's quite cheap also. So... I'll try your recipe this or next week. :)it looks so....yummy!
I'm hungry!
This is so great!
I had this dish so many times in chinese restaurants but i never had the clue on how to make it. Thanks for the recipe. I will give it a try! :-)
Yumm!
This looks delicious! I love spicy eggplant dishes:-)
Sold!
The strong pungent flavours are wonderful here - great dish!
Wow, what a eggplant.
Wow, what a eggplant. Great!
Lukas
Your spicy egg plant..
I cooked it. It is very good.
Minor modifications.
1) Substituted ground bean paste for chile paste.
2) Minced 5 red Thai chile peppers (without seeds) and added to garlic ginger stage.
3) Finally crumbled in 1/2 lb (before cooking weight) ground pork because my son will not eat if no meat.
4) Crushed the Sichuan pepper with the edge of knife on the chopping block. Did not use any ground Sichuan pepper.
5) Cut egplant to bite sized prior to cooking.
-Bob
We are a media company
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hi
This is one of my favorite Chinese dishes. I stumbled upon your blog while trying to look up a recipe for Turnip Cake to email to my Caucasian bf (I am 2nd gen Chinese). Your blog is really great! I've been meaning to learn how to cook the traditional dishes I grew up eating, especially after years of eating American and other non-Asian food in college and beyond. I find it somewhat difficult to learn authentic ways to prepare these dishes, because I live in the US and also do not live with my parents anymore, but your blog has inspired me! I hope that many other people like me will return to their culinary roots.
Thank you for bridging the gap!
yum
I ate this like every other day when I was in Yunnan. mmmmm I love it. looking fwd to trying your version.
Thanks!
I love eggplant!
I must try this recipe at the first opportunity I get.
Yum
Loved this recipe. Thanks!
Not really vegetarian
Not really vegetarian if it contains chicken (stock), makes me a bit cautious about the Asian view of vegetarianism. I'll switch it to vegetable stock and try it though because it sounds delicious!
Delicious!
I made this dish tonight using this recipe and it turned out great! I couldn't find yellow rice wine or sichuan pepper corn, so I just used the regular rice wine and ground pepper. The flavors were awesome. I will definitely make this again :)
Love this!
I have always love Yu Xiang Qie Zi after I first tasted it! I love the flavour of sweet, saltiness, spicines and sourness mixed together in this dish. Going to make it tis evening and that's why I am checking out what's the ingredients involved. Instead of frying the brinjal, I will steam them in order to cut down the oil in this recipe.
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